Stevenson scores second place at state chess tourney

Stevenson High School’s chess team placed second at the Illinois High School Association state chess finals.

It’s the second consecutive runner-up finish for Stevenson and the third in the last four years. Stevenson has finished in the Top Six 10 straight years.

Held earlier this month in Peoria, the competition featured 135 teams. Stevenson’s only loss in the two-day tournament was to Whitney Young, which won its second title in the last three years.

Five of the top seven teams in 2013 came from the North Suburban Chess League, in which Stevenson competes.

Freshman Allen Guo won the Board 2 competition, capturing all seven of his matches during the two-day competition.

Guo is the fourth Patriot to earn top honors on a board in the last four seasons.

Teammate Matt Yang, a senior, finished 10th on Board 1 with a 6-1 record, capping a career that saw him place in the Top 10 all four years. He also was second on Board 3 last year and placed fourth on Board 3 as a sophomore.

Sophomore Phillip Engstrom went 5-1-1 on Board 4 to finish 12th, while classmate Liam Holzer was 19th on Board 7 with a 5-1 record.

The remainder of the roster included seniors Adele Padgett, Vishesh Verma and Max Ye; junior Eric Monatelli; and freshman Kevin Noonan. Scott Oliver was the head coach, and his assistants were Vincent Springer and Rob Krause.